New Girl
by Afug
Summary: Ichigo's always been put down and hated for the colour of his hair. The only place he feels safe is home, minus his dad. What happens when the new girl wants to be friends? Will he be able to live again? [IchiXRuki] Sorry for OOCness in some of the people
1. Chapter 1

I'm not too confident in my _Bleach_ writings right now. I'm not sure if I can write one well. I hope so, because I love Bleach so much. I mean I wrote an Inuyasha story called, _Change_, and it seemed to be a big hit. So please be honest with me when you review, just be nice. Please read on. Thank you!

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**Chapter One**

A boy was thrown against a wall. He refused to scream. His wrist was already sprained so he could not punch with his good hand and his left-handed punches weren't doing anything but getting his attackers angrier. He grunted as he was punched in the stomach. He fell to the ground once again. Looking up he saw people just standing there. Some looking on, afraid to get involved, and some cheering, enjoying watching him get beat.

He was kicked one last time and his attackers were satisfied. He heard one of them spit and felt warm liquid dripping down his cheek. (an: Ew...) He did not wipe it off in case the three guys took it as another reason to beat him further.

"Dye your hair, you little shit," he heard one of them say coldly. Boy, it's not like he hadn't heard that before. He had heard that exact same sentence everyday for the past two years. He even considered doing it, he even had the dye, but he knew if he did it they would still tease him about something else. Sure they teased other people, but he was their favourite. His orange hair gave them an obvious reason for doing so.

He was Kurosaki Ichigo.

He looked up to see everyone dispersing. An orange-haired girl walked up to him. She held a hand out to him, offering to help him up. Ichigo looked at it then her questioningly.

"Let me help you up," she stated taking his hand and pulling. He complied and let her help him up. He wiped the blood off his chin. He had bite his tongue and the blood seeped out of the corner of his mouth. He felt the back of his head and flinched. He checked his hand and saw no blood. At least this time there was none. He guessed that he would have a big lump there for a few days. He spat on the ground seeing as his mouth tasted like metal. It came out red.

"Oh my God!" the girl exclaimed. "Are you ok?"

"It's nothing I haven't been through before," he muttered. "Thank you," he mumbled before walking away from the girl.

"Wait, what's your name!" she called after him.

"Ichigo," he said loud enough for her to hear.

"Ichigo," she repeated to herself quietly. She ran after him, finally slowing down walking beside him.

"I'm Inoue Orihime, but you can just call me Inoue," she said gleefully. She wore a big smile on her face.

"Ok," he said not looking at her.

They both walked in silence until they reached the front doors of the school. Inoue walked on but realized that Ichigo wasn't following her anymore, he was walking away from the school.

"Hey, where are you going?" she said running to catch up to him. She grabbed his wrist, trying to lead him toward the school. He hissed in pain and snatched his arm back from her grasp.

"Home," he stated bluntly.

"Would you mind if I come? I want to help you," she offered.

He looked over at her and for the first time she saw his eyes. They were a light brown. The sunlight reflected off of them making them sparkle. But what really surprised her was the cold, sad, lost look in his eyes.

He shrugged his shoulders, "I don't care. Do what you want."

"Alright, then I'm coming with you!" she cheered. She ran ahead a few steps and stopped.

"I'm looking forward to meeting your family. I'm just moved here so I don't really know anyone yet. I guess you can call me the new girl," she stated looking thoughtful.

And that's the end of my story! ... I'm joking, if it were the end it would be boring. I'm gonna add mooore! Heehee!

Ichigo and Inoue walked back to his house in silence. Inoue was having fun humming random tunes to herself while Ichigo was thinking.

_I wonder what she wants. No girl other than Tatsuki, who I had known since grade 2, ever talked to me. Too bad she moved away. I can see these two becoming really good friends. But Inoue seems all right, not like she's using me or anything, _he thought as he glanced over at the happy girl.

She noticed him looking at her and looked over. She gave him a big smile.

"Why do you always have that sour scowl on your face?" she asked innocently.

"Dunno," he said before looking at the ground in front of him once again.

"Okay," she said as if she got the answer she was looking for. They walked on. Suddenly Ichigo stopped.

"Huh?" Inoue said. She looked at the house they were stopped in front of. It looked more like a clinic than a house.

"You going to the clinic before going home?" she asked, peeking at his face.

"No," he said before walking in. She followed him curiously. "This is my home."

"You live in a clinic? Do you own it?" she began bombarding him with questions.

"My dad owns it. He's a doctor," he told her.

They walked in the house. Ichigo was about to turn around to shut the door when he suddenly flew to the side. She watched as he flew into a wall. He grunted. She saw a man taller than Ichigo standing beside her.

Ichigo jumped to his feet, "Dad, what the hell?!"

Inoue turned to look at the man. So this was his dad.

His dad waved a finger as if he was disappointed in him. "Ichigo, Ichigo, Ichigo. You weren't prepared!"

"How was I supposed to know that you were hiding behind the door?!" Ichigo yelled back.

This was the first time Ichigo had actually shown any sign of emotion. She liked it, minus the yelling.

"Wait a minute. What _were_ you doing behind the door?" Ichigo eyes his father curiously.

"Waiting for you," he calmly stated.

"Wow, dad. You need to get a life," Ichigo said sadly shaking his head.

Inoue looked at Ichigo. He almost seemed normal. Not that she thought he wasn't normal before, but he seemed relaxed. Less tense. She liked this side of him and wanted to help him be like this other places than just at home.

"No I saw you walking down the street," he said with a goofy grin. Inoue laughed a little at this. He turned to Inoue, "And who may you be?"

"Oh...I'm Inoue Orihime," she said looking at the man.

"I'm Ichigo's dad. But that's not really my name so don't call me that. I'm Kurosaki Isshin," he introduced himself.

"Enough of this," Ichigo said pushing Inoue away from his dad. "Leave her alone."

"You kill all fun, Ichigo," he stated sadly. He went to mope in a corner.

"Your dad is funny Ichigo," Inoue informed him.

"No, he's an idiot," he told her with a lopsided grin. Inoue smiled back at him. "But I need him to help me with my wrist so you can go on ahead to my room. It's at the end of the hall upstairs."

"Ok, I'll be waiting," she said as she ran up the stairs. As she reached that top of the stairs she heard Ichigo yelp and saw him fly by the bottom of the stairs. She giggled and went back on her way to Ichigo' room.

She knew from that moment on that she had developed a little crush on him.

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Well, here's the first chapter. This won't be an InouexIchigo fic. I'm not really into that pairing. I hope you guys enjoyed it and will review. I'm excited to read them! The next chapter will be up soon.

Eva-miko


	2. Chapter 2

Ahh, the second one is up! Thank you for taking your time to read this! I'm really enjoying writing this. Please read on downwards!

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**Chapter Two**

Ichigo came upstairs after ten minutes to see Inoue looking around his room curiously. At the moment she was staring at pictures placed on his wall. It was one of him and Tatsuki holding the Silver Metal of one of their many fighting competitions. He guessed that they were only about ten at the time. He smiled lightly at the memory. He watched Inoue move onto another picture. It was one of his twin sisters, Karin and Yuzu, running away from their dad. Ichigo was just about to be caught by their father. He had a wide smile on his face.

Ichigo leaned against his bedroom door's frame and cleared his throat. He saw her jump slightly and turn around to meet his gaze.

"Oh, you scared me!" she said putting a hand to her heart. "I'm sorry for being snoopy but after a minute of waiting I got curious. Ichigo?"

"Yeah?" he responded with a raised eyebrow.

"Why is your mom only in one of these pictures?" Inoue asked. She saw something in him change. His body tensed and his smirk faded. He looked just like he had when she met him in the school courtyard. "Oups."

"Ichigo?" she said approaching him lightly. He looked up at her and showed her a small smile, if you could call it that, to tell her he was ok. She didn't buy it, but she decided not to press on. He would tell her when he wanted to.

"Do you have anything to eat?" she asked, quickly changing the subject.

Ichigo seemed to lighten up slightly. "Yeah," he said leading her to the kitchen. "Take whatever you want."

"Ohh, thank you," she said bowing in thanks. She practically dove into the fridge. Ichigo watched in amazement and disgust as she ate her 'snack.'

She had made a bowl of ice cream with bean paste and hot dogs. (an: I don't' know what they eat over there so I just made up a random concoction.)

He watched her stuff her face in amazement. He didn't notice his father sneak up behind him until...POW! He was kicked in the back. His father tackled him to the ground and held his arms behind his back. Ichigo used a manoeuvre he learned in Karate to flip his father off his back. He quickly got up but his dad was too fast. He jumped on his back.

Inoue laughed because it looked like Ichigo was giving his dad a piggyback. (an: Bad sight...) Ichigo flipped Isshin off his back once again and yelled, "Lay off it dad!"

He swore he heard his dad grumble, "You're no fun..."

He looked over to where Inoue had finished eating and had been watching the two fight. She was giggling.

"What?" he said turning around. He crossed his arms and waited for any kind of response from him.

"Why didn't you fight like that when the three guys were beating you up?" Inoue asked.

This surprised Ichigo but he still answered, "If I do fight back then even more people would join the fight. I would get the shit beaten out of me."

"Oh, " Inoue said.

"Yeah," was the last thing he said. It grew silent. After five minutes of awkwardness Inoue decided to break it, "Well, I've got a bit of homework to do so I must be going."

"Alright," Ichigo replied. He followed her to the door.

"Thank you for letting me stay over for so long," she said, her hyperness returning.

"Alright," Ichigo said as she walked out the door. "Oh, and Inoue," he said catching her attention.

"Uh-huh?" she said turning back around.

"Thanks for being nice to me," he said as he closed the door.

Minutes later the doorbell ran. Ichigo could hear his dad's snoring and his sisters weren't back from school yet so he told himself that he had to get it. He opened the door and was pulled outside.

"Hey, you little shit," he heard the guy from earlier. Ichigo said nothing.

"I saw you with that hottie. I'm telling you if you see her again, you'll be in worse trouble than before," the guy threatened jealously. "Got it?"

Ichigo still said nothing.

The guy punched Ichigo, "Answer me when I'm talking to you. Got it?"

"Yeah," Ichigo said pulling away.

"And do something about that hair," the guy demanded.

Ichigo walked back into the house and fell to the ground by the door. He let his head fall forward as he let out a breath.

"There goes another friend," he said to himself.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Ichigo smashed his fist down on his alarm clock. He heard it crack under the weight. He mentally smirked. That had been the fourth one this month.

He got up and walked into the bathroom. He stripped off and got into the shower. His wrist didn't hurt anymore so he took off the splint. (an: That's what their called, right?) He let the hot water relax his muscles.

He let out a soft sigh. This was the only place he could fully relax. At school or on the streets, he never knew when he was going to be attacked. At home he never knew when his dad's foot would connect to his head of back. Here he could relax and take his time.

Soon the hot water ran out of he was forced to get out. He wrapped and towel around his waist and walked into his room. He dried off and got dressed. He walked downstairs and grabbed a piece of toast. He set off to school, not looking forward to it one little bit.

He was instantly greeted by the happy Inoue. He remembered the guy's threat yesterday after Inoue had left.

_"I saw you with that hottie. I'm telling you if you see her again, you'll be in worse trouble than before," the guy threatened jealously. "Got it?"_

He kept on walking, trying to ignore her. But damn it was hard. He eventually had to let her follow him to a deserted part of the school. He looked around and pulled her into an empty classroom.

He grabbed her shoulders and forced her to stop talking, "Inoue, listen. I can't talk to you anymore."

"Why?" she asked, hurt.

Ichigo sighed and ran his hand through his hair, "I just can't. I'm sorry."

Inoue watched as he turned and walked out of the classroom. A sad, hurt one replaced her usual cheerful appearance. Had she done something wrong? Probably asking him too many questions yesterday.

Ichigo walked slowly through the halls. He avoided bumping into anyone in case it got him beat up after school again. Like that would change anything, he would get beat up anyway. It didn't matter. He walked into class and sat in his usual seat in the back all by himself. As he walked to his seat he saw people scowling at him. It hurt but he didn't let it bother him anymore.

He walked right by Inoue earning a grin from the guy who had threatened him. He sat down just as the teacher walked in.

"Alright, alright. Class, settle down," she instructed. Everyone sweatdropped (an: I guess fanfiction has turned that into a verb, eh?). No one in the class had been talking before. They all thought how stupid this teacher could be sometimes.

"We have a new student to day. I'm expecting you all to be nice to her and make her feel welcomed," she told them. She turned to the door, "You may enter."

All eyes were on the girl as she walked to the front of the classroom. She stood before the class looking around. One boy caught her attention. He was the only one not looking up. He was seated at the back, alone. The thing that caught her attention the most was his hair. Orange. What a strange colour. She kept on staring at him.

"Everyone this is Kuchiki Rukia," the teacher introduced her.

"Hey babe," the guy who beat up Ichigo said. "How about we hook up?"

"Aizen this is hardly the time," the teacher stated. "You may do that after class."

"Will do," he said, full of himself.

Ichigo finally looked up and saw the girl standing at the front. She was short. Not midget short, but still short. She had her hands clasped together in front of her. Her hair was short and ebony. But her eyes. Her eyes were a violet colour, unusual but beautiful. They sparkled with happiness yet he could still see some sadness. Worst of all, she was staring at him. Probably at his hair. What was her name again? Kushi- no Kuchiki? Yeah. Kuchiki what? He couldn't remember.

He looked back down at his desk and stared at it like it was the most interesting thing in the room. But it wasn't. Something about this Kuchiki girl intrigued him. He wanted to get to know her but he knew that it wasn't allowed.

_Who is he? I need to know. Why is he all alone back there?_ Rukia thought.

"Now where would you like to sit?" the teacher asked her.

"Back there," she said pointing back to where Ichigo was. He looked up and saw her walking toward him. All eyes followed her as she just volunteered to sit next to the freak.

Ichigo watched her sit down next to him then looked at him. He looked away.

"Hi," she said cheerfully.

"Hmm," was his response.

"I'm Rukia," she said holding a hand out to him.

"Hmm," he said not even looking at her. He glanced up at Aizen to see him glaring dangerously. He looked back down and closed his eyes tight. He knew what was going to happen after school. Another beating.

Rukia watched this strange boy with interest. She saw him glance up momentarily then back down.

_Is he a mute? Maybe that's why he's all alone,_ she thought. "Is that all you can say?"

She heard him mumble a no.

"Then say something. What's your name?" she asked politely. Just then the bell rang. She watched as he got up and sped out of the classroom. She still wanted to know who this guy was so she followed him. She searched for him in the busy halls but couldn't find a trace. Half the school was rushing out the door, since it was the end of the day. (an: I know the day went by fast, ok? Live with it! _Please._)

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Ahh, here's the next chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed it. I was going to add more but I decided to put it in the next chapter (which I have already started.) Please review! If you do...I will...uhh...I will...oh! I will give you **each** a **box of cookies**!!! How's that? Oh man, I'm bribing you people. Anyhoo, please review and tell me what you think.

Eva-miko


	3. Chapter 3

Here's the third chapter! I'm not going to write a novel here, but...well, just enjoy!

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**Chapter Three**

Rukia searched the hallways for a few minutes but gave up. She'd have to ask someone. She bumped into someone.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she apologised.

"S'all good," the guy said in return.

Rukia took the opportunity to ask about that guy. "Hey have you see a guy with bright orange hair?"

"Seen him? How can you miss him? He's probably outside again. It happens everyday," he said before running off.

Rukia wondered what he meant by 'It happens everyday.' She decided to continue her search outside. She walked out the front doors and took a deep breath.

"Ahh, fresh air. That school smells like sweat," she commented. A loud cheering sound was heard coming from the back of the schoolyard. _Must be a game going on,_ she thought. _I'll go check it out, see how good this school really is._

She jogged to the source of the sound and found dozens of people gathered. She pushed her way further into the circle. A small gasp escaped her lips.

She watched as the orange-haired guy from earlier was punched, hard. He didn't seem to be fighting back. She looked on in horror as blood dripped off his chin. There was a deep gash on his head. She saw a knife in the other guy's hand. She recognised him from her last class. He was that guy...Aizen.

"I told you man. Talk to another hottie and you'll pay," he said mockingly.

Ichigo felt like saying, 'I didn't talk to her.' but he knew if he did that it would get him in even more trouble. The gash on his head wouldn't stop bleeding and he was having trouble seeing out of his left eye. He was getting weak from blood loss, even if it was just a little. Black dots played in his vision.

Rukia watched as the orange-haired guy wobbled a little. The other guy took advantage and kicked him in the stomach. He fell to the ground but was too weak to get back up. He took all his strength and pushed the offender away. Rukia ran out of the circle as she saw Aizen ready to stab.

Ichigo saw this and was prepared. He knew what getting stabbed was like. He was stabbed once before in grade 8, last year.

He waited but the stab never came. He looked up to see the Kuchiki girl from earlier blocking Aizen's path.

Aizen looked shocked, "Hey baby. Move a little. He has to pay for talking to you."

Rukia didn't budge. She held her breath, scared of Aizen's next move. She let it out when he turned around.

"Auuugh, looks like the fun is over for today," he said to the crowd. He turned back to Ichigo and Rukia. He looked at Rukia first, "See ya tomorrow, baby. Then he turned to Ichigo, a dangerous look in his eye, "You, you little shit. I'll see you tomorrow. Looking forward to it."

The crowd split and soon the two were left alone. Rukia knelt down to Ichigo and touched his arm lightly. It flinched. She removed her hand quickly, fearing that she had hurt him. She saw him looking up weakly at her.

"Why?" he said softly.

He spoke. She loved his voice. It was soft and kind sounding.

"Huh? What do you mean why?" she said trying to help him sit up. His face made a grimace so she knew he was in pain.

She remembered that guy's words once again, "_It happened everyday._" She looked at him. This happened everyday? She knew now that she had to be there for him. She would become his friend even if it put her in danger. It really sounded like he needed someone.

"Why did you stick up for me?" he asked her again.

"Why wouldn't I?" she asked roughly.

"Because..." Ichigo responded. He didn't know what else to say. He weakly got to his feet but fell back down. Rukia steadied him. She opened her book bag and pulled out bandages.

Ichigo looked at the girl who had just pulled medical supplies out of her bag.

She looked at him and saw a weird look on his face. She knew why, "I keep them there just in case. You never know. Lucky for you, I was going to leave them home today."

Ichigo continued to stare. She moved closer to him to clean his wound. It was still bleeding, not as bad as before so she put gauze over it and smiled in satisfaction.

"There! All better," she said smiling widely.

"Thanks," he said getting up. He began to walk away only to almost fall over again. Rukia ran up to him and helped him keep his balance.

"You don't need to," he said trying to push her away. "I can walk fine."

She watched as he struggled to even take five steps without wobbling.

"Right," she said. She grabbed his arm and put it around her neck. She put an arm around his waist to keep him from falling over. She felt him lean on her ever so slightly. Unknown to the other, they both carried a small blush.

"Now where do you want to go?" Rukia asked him, recovering over her embarrassment.

"Home," he said to her like she was dumb. Now noted that he didn't have much emotion in his voice.

"Oh, okay," she said back. "Where do you live?"

"Kurosaki Clinic," he said simply.

"You're joking right. You don't get hurt that often do you?" she questioned with seriousness.

"No, my dad owns it. By the way, watch out for him. He's a little crazy," he told her. Rukia noticed a little smirk appear on his face when he said that but it was gone sooner then it came.

"I'll remember that," she said back.

They walked in silence. They finally reached the Kurosaki residence. Ichigo pulled a key out of his pocket and tried to put it in the lock. His hand was so shaky he couldn't get it in the lock.

"Here," Rukia offered. She reached a small hand out. The moment their hands touched Ichigo looked away in a blush and she looked down. She finally got the key into the lock. It turned and she heard the lock click. She gave Ichigo his key back and he opened the door. She waited until he entered. She watched him check behind the door for some reason. This Kurosaki guy sure was weird.

"Alright coast is clear," he motioned her to come in. They walked through the dinning room. Rukia noted that it was very clean. Everything was in place. No dust. Nothing. She turned around to inspect the rest of the room.

The house was so silent until a voice was heard. "Heeeyaaa!!"

Rukia turned in time to see a man kick Ichigo in the head. She let out a small yelp. He crashed into the wall but stood back up again.

"You're crazy!" he yelled. Rukia looked at Ichigo as he finally spoke normally. She thought he looked cute when he was angry.

"Once again son, you _weren't _prepared!" he scolded.

"How was I supposed to know that you're home?" he questioned with a frown on his face.

"This is where I work, Ichigo. I thought you would know that by now," he said shaking his head in shame.

_Ichigo_, Rukia repeated in her mind. _That means "one who protects."_

"Are you calling me stupid?" he demanded. The frown hadn't once left his face. But Rukia noticed that he seemed more alive here.

"Uh-huuuh," the older man said before trying to punch Ichigo again. She watched Ichigo dodge with great speed and kick his father's feet out from underneath him.

"That's my boy," he said happily even though he had just smashed his face on the ground.

"Whatever," Ichigo said before walking off.

Rukia was about to follow when his father noticed her.

"Hello there," he said getting up, wiping some dust off his black pants. He held his hand out for a formal greeting. She gladly took it, though scared that he would try to flip her over his back or something.

Ichigo noticed the girl didn't follow him so he went back. He stood in the doorway leaning on the doorframe.

"I'm Ichigo's father. But that's not my name so..." he started.

"Dad, don't be an idiot," Ichigo said looking bored by the entrance.

"Ichigo, that hurts," he said like a child. "As I was saying, my name is Kurosaki Isshin."

"I'm Kuchiki Rukia," she said smiling back at him.

_Rukia,_ Ichigo thought. _So that's her name._

"Nice to meet you Miss Kuchiki," her father said respectfully.

"Please just call me Rukia," she begged. She hated it when people called her by her last name.

"Alright, Rukia. I'd like to have a word with my son for a moment. You think I could borrow him from you?" he asked looking at Ichigo.

Rukia blushed, "Uh...of course."

"Alright thank you," he said as Rukia walked out of the room. She stayed nearby though. Not knowing if this was the kind of family where you have to get permission to do things or the kind where you can do anything and they wouldn't care. She could hear the conversation going on between father and son. She didn't want to eavesdrop but she couldn't help it.

"Ichigo, you have to stop getting into fights," Isshin demanded.

"If I could, I would, dad," she heard him respond.

"I don't want to lose you like I lost your mother," she heard Isshin say. Her heart jumped, Ichigo didn't have a mother.

"Enough, I'm tried of you bringing mom into this," she heard Ichigo's frustrated voice say, "You might as well be saying if I didn't get in as many fights, she would still be here. It's not my fault my hair is orange. It's not my fault people hate me for it. You might as well be saying that it was my fault that mom died."

She heard Ichigo stomping toward her direction so she made a distance between her and the door. He came through looking thoroughly upset.

"Come on, let's go to my room," he said walking up the stairs. Rukia looked up after him. She wanted to cry for him. He had lost his mother. She didn't know how long ago but he shared the same pain as her, if not worse. She had never known her mother, never really got attached. But he, he grew up with her, learned to love her, and lost her. And he blamed himself.

A lone tear escaped as she walked up the stairs after him. "Ichigo..."

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Ahh, there's my next one. I'm almost positive that most of the characters are totally off, personality-wise, but I'm really, _really_ trying. Please read and review! More cookies are available. Future chapter rewards are double-chocolate cookies, milk, and ice cream (any flavour available). Only chocolate chip is available at the moment. It takes time to think up the perfect cookies. I'll have the double-chocolate done by next chapter!

Eva-miko


	4. Chapter 4

Back again! As a response to chapter 1-2 reviewers; you each get...**a box of cookies!!** Available this chapter: double-chocolate cookies! Mmmmm...I could really go for one of those, but I must resist! Remember...they are for the reviewers... Before things get out of control, I'll start the next chapter! Enjoy!

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**Chapter Four**

_A lone tear escaped as she walked up the stairs after him. "Ichigo..."_

Ichigo led Rukia to his room. She dropped her bag near his bedroom door so she wouldn't forget it on her way out. He watched her do the same as Inoue. She wandered from the miscellaneous objects resting on his desk to the pictures on the wall. First she looked at the picture of Tatsuki holding a young Ichigo's hand, proudly showing off a metal hanging at her neck. She smiled.

"Who's this?" she asked pointing at the picture. She looked over at him sitting on his bed.

"An old friend," he responded shrugging his shoulders.

"Old?" Rukia asked, cocking her head to the side slightly.

"Yeah, she moved away. I haven't seen her in 4 years," he told her. She let out a soft, "Ahh" before returning to her exploring. She too noticed that Ichigo's mother wasn't in many of the pictures, only the ones when he looked about 7. She assumed that she had died shortly after that. She wanted to ask, but she knew she shouldn't.

Rukia moved on to his closet. She opened it up and saw a small dresser sitting inside. She hopped up and sat on the edge of it. She swung her legs slowly and looked up smiling. Ichigo froze. Her smile was beautiful.

He didn't know why but he smiled back. It was Rukia's turn to freeze. Did he just smile? If so, she loved it.

'You know, you should smile more often. It looks better then you frowning all the time," she commented, making her face into a frown.

"Shut up," he mumbled.

He heard Rukia gasp. Looking up quickly he saw her holding an old stuffed animal.

"He's is soo cute!" she squealed. She hugged it tightly to her chest. If it had been alive it would be crying and gasping for breath.

"You can have it," he told her. "It's an old stuffed animal my mom gave to me when I was really young."

She saw him visibly sadden at the mention of his mom. She couldn't take it from him. It was something his mom gave to him.

"No I can't take it from you," she said resting it back on the dresser.

"Please," he said quietly. "I want you to."

Rukia stayed silent. She still felt like it was wrong, but she took it back into her arms. She hugged it again, softer this time.

"Thank you," she said softly. She hopped off the dresser and leaped onto him to give him a hug. The impact made Ichigo fall off the back of the bed. They rolled a little, putting them in an awkward position. Neither of them moved.

"Ichigo!" Isshin yelled joyfully as he entered his room. "Your sisters are stay at a friends to...nigh...t..."

Ichigo blushed as he realized the position they were caught in. He was lying on top of Rukia. He blushed deeply and jumped off her. Rukia, also blushing, leapt up and ran over to the side of Isshin.

"It's not what it looked like!" they both yelled.

"I see what's going on," Isshin said slyly. He wiped a finger across the tips of his nose casually as he turned and walked out of the room. "I'll leave you two alone. Just come downstairs when you're done. Don't make too much noise."

"Dad!" Ichigo yelled. "It was nothing! We just..."

Rukia burst out into laughter beside him. Ichigo turned sharply, "What's so funny?"

"That was soo awkward!" she said. "I can't believe you dad actually thought..."

Her laughter must have been highly contagious because soon he was laughing lightly. Rukia didn't want to stop in fear that he too would stop. The sound of his laughing was the first happy thing she had heard out of him. She was afraid that if she stopped, that she would never have the chance to hear it again.

Ichigo soon stopped laughing and watched her continue, "You laugh a lot," he commented.

Rukia stopped, fearing she had let it go on too long. She looked down hiding her blush, "Yeah. Laughing is good. You should laugh more often."

"What else should I do more often?" he asked her, letting out a small chuckle.

Rukia looked up and smiled at him. "Just smile, laugh, and be happy."

"Alright," he said. He knew fully that the next day at school he would go back to his normal, depressing self. He would also be in even worse trouble for spending time with Rukia.

The phone rang and Ichigo's eyes fell upon it. "Dad! Phone!" he yelled downstairs to his dad.

"Get off your lazy ass and get it yourself for once. Some of us are actually working!" they heard him reply. Along with his voice was the sound of the TV.

Ichigo turned and walked toward the phone, mumbling the whole way, "You're not even working you idiot. You'd think you could turn down the TV or something...lazy ass..."

Rukia laughed at his little conversation with himself. She watched him pick up the phone.

"Hello?" he asked politely. She saw him tense.

"_Stay away from her or else your little sisters will pay, you little shit,_" Ichigo heard come from the other end.

Ichigo hung up the phone quickly. He put his hands on the desk in front of him. He shut his eyes tightly. He had to get her out of there or else his family would be in danger. He felt a soft hand on his arm. He jumped slightly at the contact, but looked up to see Rukia looking at him worried.

"Ichigo, what's wrong?" she asked him. Her hand was still on his shoulder. He pushed it off lightly, not wanting to hurt her feelings.

"Nothing. Hang up call," he lied. "Listen I have some homework to do."

"We can do it together. We have all the same classes," she stated.

"No I need to do it alone," he said sadly. He really didn't want her to leave but once again he was forced to kick a friend out of his life. Too bad, he really, really liked this girl too.

"Oh, ok. I see," Rukia said, a little hurt. She didn't let it show though. He was kicking her out. She wondered what she had done wrong. She was about to walk out when Ichigo called her name.

"Yeah?" she said turning her head in his direction.

"You forgot this," he said throwing the stuffed rabbit at her. "It's name is Chappy."

Rukia caught is without a problem. She looked at it then back at him. She saw a sad look in his eyes. Something was wrong.

"Ichi--" she began.

"You should go," he interrupted. He walked her to the front door. He watched as she walked out the door. She looked back at him.

"Look, Rukia I'm sorry but we can't talk again. I'm sorry but I don't have a choice," he said as he shut the door. Rukia watched the door shut. She turned and held Chappy close to her. It was possibly the only thing she would have to remember the nice side of him. The happy side. The side she loved to see.

Ichigo walked back upstairs and got into the shower. Once again he had time alone to think. _Why is it that everytime I get a new friend, Aizen and the others force them out of my life? I can't talk to Rukia again though. It's for my family..._ he thought, trying to convince himself. He watched the soapy suds drip off his hand. They washed down the drain. Kind of reminded him of his own life. He knew, sooner or later, he would end up dead.

He got out and wrapped the towel around his waist, like he did everytime. He walked across the hall and into his room.

"Rukia?" he questioned when he saw the short girl reaching down for her bag. She jumped and swung around losing her balance. He reached out and caught her. He watched as she opened her eyes slowly. She leapt off of him with a big blush.

_Wow..._ Rukia thought looking at Ichigo's bare chest. He clearly had a six pack. He was incredibly fit. Thought came to her head, causing her to blush even more. She covered her face and turned around. She felt his warmth wash over her as he leant over her.

"Rukia are you alright? You're looking a little flushed," he asked concerned. He reached out, causing his muscles to flex. Rukia blushed even more. He put a soft, gentle hand on her forehead. "Damn, feels like your burning up."

"No, no, no," she said waving a dismissive hand toward him. "I'm fine, it's just a little hot in here." _A little?_

"Are you sure?" Ichigo said taking another step toward her. "It feels fine to me."

"Yeah, yeah," she said waving both hands now. She took a couple steps back. He was close enough now so she could see the full details on his chest. Sure he was amazingly fit but there were scars placed all over it. She saw a big bruise where Aizen had kicked him earlier. She flinched. She reached out to touch it lightly. She looked up to see Ichigo's brown eyes staring down at her. She removed her hand and mumbled a "Sorry."

"Do-does it hurt?" she asked dejectedly.

"Nah. I'm used to it," he said, poking it.

"Don't do that!" she said pulling his hand away.

"Okay, okay, calm down," he said showing her that his hands were no where near his chest. She once again looked at his chest and this time a certain scar caught her attention. It looked worse than the others did. It was slightly reddened, and looked like it was deeper then the other scars.

Ichigo saw what she was looking at and explained, "I was stabbed in grade 8."

Rukia looked up at him once again in shock.

"It's no big deal. I'm here aren't I?' he said coolly.

"Yeah," Rukia mumbled. She hadn't really realized how tall Ichigo was until now. She looked back down, still embarrassed.

"Uh, could you step out for a minute so I can get dressed?" he said rubbing the back of his neck.

Rukia blushed even deeper, "Uh, yeah...sure...I'll...I'll just go."

"Thanks," he said as he shut the door behind her. He got dressed quickly and leapt down the stairs. He saw Rukia standing by the front door waiting. She turned around to look at him. He could have sworn he saw tears in her eyes. He must have been imagining it. He walked toward the front door when something hard rammed into his back. He fell to the ground.

"Dad!?" he yelled, rubbing his sore back. He looked up to see Isshin standing over him, waving a finger like he was disciplining a child.

"You were prepared...once again," he said looking away. "You're growing weak, son."

Ichigo just stood up and continued to the door to where Rukia was waiting, laughing.

"What are you laughing at?" he said hotly.

"Oh, nothing," she said covering her mouth with a hand.

"Why did you come back anyway?" he questioned.

She turned around to show him her bookbag, "Forgot my bag."

"Ahh," he said in understanding.

They stood looking at each other for a moment before Ichigo looked away, turning a light pink. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay, bye Ichigo. It was fun," she said as she walked out once again.

Aizen's threat came floating back through his head, "_Stay away from her or else your little sisters will pay, you little shit..._"

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That was kind of long. But I really enjoyed writing this chapter! Remember double-chocolate cookies are available at the moment. All reviewers will receive one! Next chapter; MILK! Thank you for reading. Now push the little purple button on the bottom left corner of your Internet Explorer screen, and write something nice!

Eva-miko


	5. Chapter 5

Ahh, another one. I've written five chapters in two days, counting this one. I hope you all are enjoying my story so far. I especially like that last chapter. Love it when they show Ichigo shirtless. Drools Well, as I drown in my drool, you guys may enjoy another chapter! Thanks!

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**Chapter Five**

Ichigo returned to his room and sat at his computer desk. He turned it on and thought it over; Aizen's threat, how much he like Rukia, his sister ... He couldn't find anything that could get Aizen off his back, still be friends with Rukia, _and_ keep his family safe.

The beeping sound told him that his computer was ready. He typed in his password (an: I would tell you it but I don't think he would be very happy...heehee No one likes people telling their password to the world.). The computer loaded quickly. Good thing it was fast because he wasn't in the mood for waiting. He opened an Internet Explorer. As he signed on his email account it read that he had 134 new emails. This surprised him. He rarely ever got any emails. Almost all of them were from unknown senders but there was a few from Inoue, Rukia, his dad, and his friend Keigo. He opened the one from Rukia first and it read:

_Ichigo,_

_I hate you. You should just go die in a corner alone. I never liked you. Go kill yourself._

_Rukia_

_P.s. Do something about your hair. It's a menace to society._

Ichigo re-read the letter in shock. This couldn't be from Rukia. She would never say things like that. Would she? He had just met her today, so he wasn't even sure if today was an act. He deleted the email and opened his inbox. He recognized a few people from school but otherwise he had no idea who half the people were. He didn't bother reading anymore of them, even the ones from his family. The subjects told him everything.

_Go kill yourself._

_Dye your hair or something._

_Loser._

One caught his attention though. He knew it was from Aizen because it was titled, _Little shit._ He debated on whether he really wanted to read what was inside it. He hesitantly opened it. He read it slowly:

_ya lil shit!_

_wat did i tell u bout talkin to da girl? arent ur sis at friends house? shouldnt let dem out of ur site. tings cud happen. dont talk 2 rukia again, got it? dye ur hair, or else_

_ur worst enemy_

Ichigo's heart jumped at the mention of his sisters. The back of his mind laughed at how bad Aizen's grammar and spelling was but the front part was scared. Scared for his family. He didn't know that he was being constantly spied on by school members. He didn't know that Aizen was watching him while Rukia was there.

He decided to finally dye his hair. Something told him if he didn't, things would get seriously dangerous. For him, his family, and possibly even Rukia. He deleted all of the new emails and shut down his computer. He went onto his closet and opened the bottom drawer of his dresser. He shoved a few pairs of pants aside and got the hair dye. He dragged himself back into the bathroom. He let the cold water run, making his dad think that he was in the shower. Again. He didn't want to be waiting for 30 minutes and finally get in finding that he ran out of hot water.

He applied the hair dye and let in sit in his hair for 45 minutes. The label said 20-30 minutes, but he was afraid that if there was one strand left orange, that they would take it as some sort of rebellion. He got in the shower and felt the warm water run against his skin. This was one of the only times a shower felt uncomfortable and unsafe. He got out after washing away the dye thoroughly. He stepped out and attempted to look in the mirror. The glass was too fogged up to tell.

He dried himself off and got dressed again. He walked into his room and looked into the mirror placed at the back of his closet. He nodded in satisfaction. It was definitely a change but he'd have to get used to it. He walked downstairs to get a small snack before he set off to bed.

He heard footsteps running toward him; dad was coming.

"Ichiiii-go?" he heard him stop. "Is that you?"

Ichigo turned around to face his dad. He let a small smirk fall onto his face. "Yeah."

"Ok-ay," Isshin said before walking away.

It was the first time Ichigo had seen his father try to attack him but not lay a hand on him in the end. Maybe this new colour was a good thing after all.

He walked back upstairs and got into a pair of boxers and a loose T-shirt. He slipped into bed, _almost_ happy. He thought of Rukia. _Will I be able to talk to her? No, I can't if it puts my family in danger._

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I know. This was a short chapter. I wonder what colour he dyed his hair? Pink? Green? Brown? It could be any of those. I guess you'll have to read the next chapter in order to find out! R&R!!

Reminder: Milk is available with the cookies you receive upon reviewing for this chapter.

Eva-miko


	6. Chapter 6

Ahaha! Another one started. This is the third chapter I've written today too! I'm so proud of myself Pats self on back Is it just me or does the word 'pats' look weird. Is it spelt right? Well, I hope you like this chapter. This is the one when you figure out Ichigo's new hair colour. Read on!

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**Chapter Six**

Rukia anxiously looked at the clock. It read 8: 30. Ichigo had still not shown up for school yet. As the teacher took attendance she noted that Ichigo was never late for school. This made Rukia worry. She watched the door of the classroom hoping he would come in unharmed. She glanced at the desk beside her, wishing Ichigo were sitting there at the moment. Her gaze shifted to the clock; 8:40. She clenched her hands together nervously. _Please be ok._

Ichigo woke up with a large yawn. He rubbed his eyes and turned to see the time. It was 8:35. His school started 25 minutes ago! He leaped out of bed and almost ripped his shirt as he put it on quickly and roughly. He ran downstairs and found no one home. He assumed that his sisters were at school already and his dad was out shopping. He didn't even bother eating as he tore out the door and ran to school. Too bad he lived so far away. He was surprised when he arrived at 8:55. He ran to the office, getting weird looks thrown at him along the way. Good sign, no scoffing yet.

Rukia glanced at the clock once again. It was 9:00. She wanted to run out of class and look for him but she knew that she couldn't do that. She watched a guy run into class panting heavily. He handed a piece of paper to the teacher and was told to sit down. Rukia watched as the guy sat down in the back, like her, but further away. She saw him glance at her momentarily but look away. If he were a new student then the teacher would have introduced him. But she didn't so he was a regular student. Why hadn't she seen him the day before?

She glanced at the clock once again; 10:59. At the bell she saw Aizen walk up to the guy and lead him roughly out of the class. The 'new guy' looked oddly familiar. She was still scared that Ichigo didn't show for class but she followed this mysterious guy. Was he a friend of Aizen? She doubted it by the way he was looking at him.

She found the two outside. Aizen was pushing around this guy. He grabbed the new guy's hair and pulled it. She saw a look of displeasure wipe across the guy's face.

She over heard Aizen say, "So you decided to _finally_ dye your hair. But that doesn't change anything. The girl is mine and if I catch you even looking at her again; I'll kill you."

She saw the guy speak softly, like it was the first time he had stuck up to a bully, "She doesn't belong to anyone."

"What?" Aizen growled, his eye twitched.

"She doesn't belong to you," the guy said with more confidence.

"How...dare..._you_ talk back to me!" he yelled as he punched the guy. To Rukia's surprise he dodged and punched the guy in the stomach. His fighting style seemed oddly familiar. She watched as the guy fell to the ground suddenly. Aizen took the chance to try and kick the guy, but his feet were kicked out from underneath him. He fell on the ground with a thump.

The other guy stood up and looked down upon Aizen. "I'm not taking your shit anymore. I've been teased about the colour of my hair for ever since I can remember. I'm sticking up for what I believe is right. And...if you even _look_ at my family and friends..._I'll_ kill _you_!"

Rukia finally realized who the voice belonged to, "Ichigo!"

Ichigo's head turned to look at Rukia. Aizen who had taken his moment of distraction as an advantage kicked him in the stomach.

"It's on," he growled dangerously. Aizen walked off, glaring at Rukia as he walked by her. The look gave her the chills but she continued to run toward Ichigo.

"Rukia," he said softly.

"Are you alright?" she said examining him.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," he said casually. He got up, bent over a little bit. It took him a few minutes to be able to stand up straight again.

"You stuck up for yourself," she said in amazement.

"You really think I would take that shit forever?" he said shrugging his shoulders.

She hit him across the head.

"Oww, what was that for?" he yelled at her.

"Stop acting like this is nothing!" she yelled back. He was acting like he was supposed be treated like this. "You're acting like you're supposed to be treated like this!"

"Maybe I am, ok?" he said turning around.

"And why is that?" she said stubbornly putting her hands on her hips. She wasn't about to let him change the subject.

"Nevermind. It's something that happened long ago," he said starting to walk away.

"Like the death of your mother?" she said sternly. He froze. "Yes, Ichigo. I know you blame yourself. You blame yourself because people hated you for your hair. I'm not sure how she died or how long ago but I _know_ that it wasn't your fault. I heard you and your dad fighting in the kitchen last night. I know you blame yourself because people hated you for your hair. They would start fights. Please Ichigo, don't blame yourself..."

He kept on walking. Rukia felt tears coming to her eyes. "Let's go."

She looked up and saw Ichigo waiting for her. "Where?" she sniffled.

"Well, I don't want to be here right now, so how about we go to my house. You can watch dad trying to beat me up," he suggested. He smiled when he saw her smile and nod wildly. He saw her reach into her bag and pull out the familiar Chappy.

"You're carrying that around with you?" he asked with a raised brow.

"Of course," she said, hugging it tightly. "It means a lot to me."

She watched a small smile come to his face. She smiled back happily and ran up to him. They walked off school property together. Once far enough away from school, Rukia boldly took Ichigo's hand in hers. She smiled when she felt him tighten his hold.

"By the way, black looks good on you," Rukia complimented shyly but added, "But I liked your hair better before."

Ichigo looked down at her in surprise. She liked it before? A warm smile came to his face as he looked ahead of him once more.

"Thanks," he whispered not knowing if she heard him..

"That's it," an enraged voice whispered. "He's dead..."

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Ahh, still a little short but I really like this one. Choose a flavour of Ice cream and put it on top of your cookies and milk! But you have to review first! Good things will happen if you push the little purple button below!

Eva-miko


	7. Chapter 7

Ahh, hey again! I hope you all enjoyed the ice cream I gave you last time! Good combination with cookies. I'm afraid I don't want to give you guys anymore junk food, just in case you develop some disease. But you can't sue me because I'm not the only one feeding you junk food, right? Anyhoo, back to my story! Please enjoy!

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**Chapter Seven**

Rukia and Ichigo walked into the calm house. Ichigo finally stayed tense because he had been caught by surprise almost four times in the last day. He walked into the kitchen and found a note on the fridge. He pulled it off and read it out loud.

_Ichigo,_

_Not here._

_Dad._

"Yeah...that tells me a lot," Ichigo said rolling his eyes. "You'd think he'd put a little more detail than just, 'Not here.'"

Rukia walked in to see him talking to himself. She stifled a giggle when she got an idea.

Ichigo turned around when he heard footsteps running toward him and held out a fist. _What a liar. Stupid dad._ He was surprised when Rukia came in contact with it.

Rukia was cut short when Ichigo's fist hit her right in the nose. She stopped and held her nose in her hands. _Damn that hurt._

Ichigo looked at her worried. He couldn't see her nose because she blocked it. Her eyes were shut tightly. A small stream of tears dripped out of the corners.

"Rukia, I'm soo sorry. I thought you were my dad," he explained frantically. He knew enough things growing up in a clinic to help with almost any type of injury. He grabbed her and picked her up, surprising Rukia. She opened her eyes and stared at his with wide teary eyes. He had to admit minus the tears, she looked adorable.

"It's ok," she said with a small sniffle. "It doesn't hurt that badly."

"That's why you're crying," he said sarcastically. "Why were you running up behind me anyway?"

"Trying to scare you," she said looking down. She saw a little bit of blood drip from her hands. She opened them to find her hands littered with it. She let out a small gasp.

Ichigo looked down to see blood. He ran to his room and laid her down on his bed.

"Ichigo, no," Rukia begged. "I don't want to get blood on your sheets."

"Don't care," he said simply. "I have more."

Rukia watched as he ran out of the room and came back with a first aid box. She began to sit up but was pushed back down gently.

"Stay lying down," he told her, "it'll stop the blood flow."

Rukia stayed lying down as she watched Ichigo's face as he fixed her up. It was rough at first then a soft look replaced it. He looked almost calm, despite the fact that he had just hurt her. She enjoyed watching it and looked away everytime he glanced at her to see how she was doing. She would end up just looking at him again. She felt happy when she looked at him, just like old times.

Ichigo could see her looking at him as he worked on her nose. He occasionally glanced at her to see what her reaction would be. As he thought, she looked away quickly pretending that she was never looking at him in the first place. He would give her a weird look then go back to work. Once again he felt her look at him.

Ten minutes later, he got the bleeding to totally stop and he bandaged her up. She got up and walked to his closet. She leaped up on the dresser once again and watched him clean up. He removed the sheet from his bed and replaced them. He threw out all the Kleenexes he used. Rukia felt weird sitting there watching him clean up the mess she had made. He finished to see her staring at him again.

"Yes?" he finally asked.

"Nothing," she said looking away once again.

"You've been staring at me the whole time we were here," he stated.

"No I haven't," she said stubbornly.

"Yes you have."

"No I haven't!"

"Yes you have!

"NO I HAVEN'T!"

Ichigo turned around and mumbled, "Stubborn little...yes you have..."

He heard her mumble back, "No I haven't..."

Ichigo rolled his eyes and began to walk out. Her voice caught his attention. He turned around facing her again. She wasn't looking at him this time but the ground.

"You just remind me of someone with your hair back," she whispered.

Ichigo was surprised by her confession and decided not to press on further. She seemed downcast, sad.

He walked out once again. His heart broke as he heard silent sobs coming from Rukia. He decided to leave her alone for a while. He went downstairs and sat at the kitchen table. He watched out the window as the rain began to fall.

A knock at the door almost went unheard. He ran out the door and opened it. Inoue stood there, surprised. She stared at his hair. Ichigo watched as she didn't make a move to come in. He grabbed her arm and pulled her inside.

"That was you?" she said pointing to her hair.

"What do you mean?" he asked cluelessly.

"I thought you skipped school today, or something bad happened, or you got abducted by brain-sucking aliens," she said innocently. Ichigo sweatdropped at her imagination.

"Nah, I was there. I just left before lunch ended," he told her, carelessly shrugging his shoulders.

"I know that now," she said looking at his hair. "Why did you dye your hair?"

Ichigo watched her, "Just felt like it," he lied.

"Oh, okay," she said, totally buying it.

There was another knock at the door as Ichigo led Inoue further into the house. He told her to wait for him in the kitchen as she opened the door. A woman stood there, about his age, with short-ish ebony hair. She had a tomboy look about her and she stood with a hand on her hip.

"Hi," Ichigo said. "Can I help you?"

"Hey," she said with a girlish voice. "Is Ichigo here?"

Ichigo raised a questioning eyebrow at her, "This is, who are you?"

He watched her jaw drop. She walked in and closed the door. Ichigo stared at her in shock. Here's this complete stranger; randomly coming to his door asking for him then barges her way inside.

"Ichigo?" she said walking closer. Ichigo backed up a couple steps until he was flat against the wall. She began to poke him everywhere and pulled his hair.

"Uhh," he said uncomfortably. He pushed her away from him. "Who are you?"

"Don't tell me that you forgot me after 4 years," she said putting her hands on her hips again. "And what did you do to your hair?"

_4 years?_ Ichigo thought. _Who haven't I seen in 4 years? She obviously knows me..._

She watched as he scratched his head as he thought. She let out a sigh, "Damnit Ichigo. You haven't changed. It's me, Tatsuki!"

_Tatsuki?_ Ichigo thought.

She watched as he still sat there scratching his head.

_Tatsuki, Tatsuki, Tatsuki...Tatsuki!_

"Tatsuki!" he said finally.

"There ya go," she said as though she was talking to a 6-year-old. "Damn, you're still as slow as ever!"

"Hey shut up, ok? It's been a while," he said removing his hand from his head. "I'm sorry."

"It's ok. You have the right to be slow," she said punching him on the arm teasingly.

"Hey," he protested. "So, how've ya been?"

"Forget me, what about you? What's with the hair?" she said pointing at his hair like Inoue had.

"Felt like a change," he lied. Too bad she wasn't as dense as Inoue.

"You still being bullied?" she asked him.

"Nah," he lied again.

"I know you're lying, but I won't force anything out of you," she said coolly. She walked around, "This place hasn't changed at all."

"I know," Ichigo said, embarrassed. "Dad doesn't like to change things around."

"How's your family by the way?" she said walking into the kitchen. She noticed Inoue sitting at the table watching the rain like Ichigo had been doing.

Ichigo cleared his throat catching Inoue's attention. "Inoue this is Tatsuki, the one in the picture."

"Girlfriend?" Tatsuki said inspecting her.

Ichigo blushed and waved his hands, "No, no. A friend from school."

Inoue blushed but grew sad when Ichigo quickly told Tatsuki that they were just friends.

"Yeah...just friends," Inoue repeated.

Tatsuki looked at the girl and instantly knew that they would become great friends. She also knew that this Inoue girl had a big crush on Ichigo by the was she sadly repeated 'just friends.'

She walked up to Inoue and held a hand out, "Hey, I'm Tatsuki."

Inoue grabbed it and flinched at her tough grip. "Hey. I'm Inou--"

She was interrupted by a loud clash of thunder and lightning. The power was out. Everything was engulfed by darkness. A terrified scream was heard from upstairs. Tatsuki dashed in the direction, followed by Inoue but Ichigo beat both of them there.

They walked into Ichigo's room and found Rukia sitting on his bed clutching his sheets for dear life. She looked absolutely horrified. Another flash of lightning gave them enough light to see her once happy violet eyes wide with fear. Here face was soaked with what they guessed was tears. Ichigo approached her, scared to frighten her even further.

He got close enough to her to touch her arm. He reached a hesitant hand out and touched her arms. All three of them were surprised when she leaped into his arms. Her face was dug into his chest, blocking out the rest of the world. Ichigo looked down at her in shock. He wrapped his arms around the shaking girl telling her that he was there and she was safe.

Inoue looked on in jealousy. She turned around and stomped downstairs. She flopped herself roughly on the couch. Even she was afraid to leave the house. The risk of getting hit by lightning was one in millions but she didn't want to take the chance.

She heard creaking and turned to see Tatsuki walking down the stair followed by Ichigo and the crying Rukia. She looked away quickly and kept her gaze on something in front of her. She watched Tatsuki light a few candles and place them on the coffee table. She sat beside her. She smiled lightly at her. Inoue smiled back lightly but then looked back at the fire dancing in front of her.

Ichigo sat on the smaller couch. Rukia refused to get off him so he just settled on her sitting on him. His shirt was soaked with her tears. He didn't care though. He just held her in his arms, trying to take her fear away.

Soon enough the tears ended and the shaking settled down a bit, not completely stopping. Ichigo looked down to see she had fallen asleep. The storm stopped but he still couldn't get her of his lap.

Tatsuki spoke up, cutting the silence, "I think she's afraid of storms."

"Ya think," he said sarcastically.

She stuck her tongue out at him, which he returned gladly.

"By the way," Inoue started. This was one of the first times she spoke since the incident upstairs, "what happened to Rukia's nose?"

Ichigo rubbed the back of his neck. He looked hesitant, "I...uhh. I kinda accidentally punched her in the face."

"What!" Tatsuki yelled waking up the sleeping Rukia.

"I said it was an accident. My dad has been working overtime on me here. I thought it was him sneaking up on me!" Ichigo yelled back, trying to save his own ass. He knew Tatsuki's strength, and he was afraid.

"It's true," the small voice of Rukia. All attention was turned to her. She saw Inoue from her class and a random girl yelling at Ichigo. She looked around, but she couldn't see him anywhere. She put her hand down and felt a leg. She slowly looked up and saw a surprised Ichigo looking back down at her. She quickly removed her hand from his leg and jumped up off his lap with much trouble. She watched him double over as she leaped off. Her blush was deep but she reaproached him.

"What's wrong? Are you alright?" she asked bending down to see his eyes shut tightly. She could tell he was in pain.

"Ichigo?" she asked putting a hand on his bent over back.

He took a deep breath and said with trouble, "When...when you got up...ahh...you kneeled...me in my..."

He didn't need to finish; they all flinched and sucked in a breath. That couldn't be pretty.

"I'm soo sorry!" she said. She didn't know what to do to make him feel better.

A loud knock was heard at the door. Ichigo made a move to get up but doubled over again.

"Here. I'll get it," Inoue said. She walked to the door and jumped when the door was pounded against. She was afraid. At least at her house there was a peephole she could look out of to see who was there. Here, there was nothing. She had to open the door. She gasped at whom she saw.

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Ahh, there ya go. A little longer then the other ones. How'd ya like it? I had fun writing this chapter. Who do you think is at the door? Tell me in a review! I've run out of ice cream, and I'll have to go back to the store to buy some milk, but there are still cookies left! R&R!!

Eva-miko


	8. Chapter 8

Yet another chapter. Still enjoying this story? I hope so. It's my first Bleach writing...Then there's the crappy oneshot I posted with this one. My first oneshot ever. It's called Always Be There For You if anyone's interested. Anyhoo, I'll be continuing the next chapter now. Read on!

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**Chapter Eight**

Inoue gasped. There, standing in front of her in the pouring rain, was Isshin. Although his clothes were soaked and he had a severely distorted look on his face, she could tell it was him. The distant flash of lightning in the background made him look like some sort of psycho but she was only a _little_ afraid. He held several bags in each arm.

Inoue quickly let him in and and grabbed a few bags. Tatsuki came around the corner to check if everything was alright. She also gasped at the sight of Ichigo's father. They walked their way into the kitchen, dragging bags along with them. There was no candles in the room so it was pitch black.

"Hey Mr. Kurosaki," Tatsuki said through the dark.

"Hey, is that Tatsuki?" he questioned moving around in the dark, arms extended, trying to find her.

There was a crash coming from another room.

"What the hell was that?" they heard Rukia say from the other room. She sounded scared.

Tatsuki found a pan on the wall. She held it like a weapon and made her way to the source of the sound. It was quiet, other then the loud, hoarse breathing coming from just in front of her. Despite her tough exterior she was still human. She was scared, though she would never admit it. She screamed when something grabbed her ankle. She brought down the pan several times. She felt a little better everytime she flet it make contact with the intruder's head.

All of a sudden, the power came back on. She looked down and was surprised to see Isshin laying there, a small strea of blood making its way down his face. She dropped the pan, too bad it was still over his head. She watched as he fell down in a state of unconsciousness. Inoue came up behind her, followed by Rukia. They peered around her curiously.

"How did he get way out here?" Inoue questioned.

"I honestly have no idea," Tatsuki said, still looking down at him. "But..." she said as she turned and ran into the livingroom.

She pointed an accusing finger down at Ichigo, who was still sitting down but his back was more straight. he looked up at her, pain a little less evident in his eyes. "Even your damn dad, who is a complete moron, recognised me; IN THE DARK TOO! Your dad! Come on Ichigo, don't tell me that you've stooped to his level!"

"Shut up, ok! You know that I'm no good with faces!" he defended.

"But we grew up together, you should know me better than anyone!" she said, not giving up.

"Whatever," Ichigo said giving up.

_He's changed,_ Tatsuki thought looking at him. _When he was younger, he wouldn't give up so easily. We used to fight all the time and they would go on for over ten minutes. This barely lasted thirty seconds. What's happened?_

"Ichigo, you feeling any better?" Rukia said coming back in the room.

"A little," he said, getting up slowly. "Why?"

"Your dad's unconscious and his head is bleeding. None of us is strong enough to carry him to a bed," she said pointing to his dad on the floor, unconscious.

Ichigo looked at him then said, "leave him there. He'll survive."

_That's the Ichigo I know!_ Tatsuki thought happily.

Ichigo walked by his dad and wobbled his way to the kitchen. Rukia watched him guiltily. She felt bad for kneeling him, but it was an acident.

They all followed him and watched him get a glass out of the cupboard. He turned and saw them all watching him, he glanced around uncomfortably, "You guys want anything?"

They didn't take a chance to answer, they launched themselves at his fridge and cupboards. he watched the three girls in amazement as they each prepared their own snack.

Rukia just took a bit of ice cream and a banana and made herself a banana sundae.

Inoue made some weird concoction similar to the first time she had been there. He made a face and looked at Tatsuki.

"What the hell?" he said as he watched her picking up the phone. "What do you think your doing?"

She turned to him, "Shh, you're buying me pizza. Yeah hey, I'd like to order two large pizza's..."

"Hey!" Ichigo said leaping for the phone.

She kicked his face making him fall to the ground. "Ow..."

Once Tatsuki hung up the phone all the girls began to laugh. Ichigo was glaring at Tatsuki, sulking in a corner.

"Come on you're looking like your dad," Tatsuki commented, knowing well that they would get him out of the corner.

"Hey," he yelled leaping out of the corner. Another foot made contact with his head and he flew across the room.

"Dad!" Ichigo said getting up, about ready to attack his father.

"Once again, Ichigo--" he began.

"--you weren't prepared," Ichigo mocked in a girlish voice.

"Hey I don't sound like that," Isshin protested.

Ichigo was about to fight back when there wasa knock at the door. He walked to the door and opened it. he was greeted by a hug. He looked down to see his little sister, Yuzu, attacked to his stomach area. Her twin, Karin, stood there looking bored.

"Can we come in already?" she barked. "It's kind of raining!"

Ichigo peeled Yuzu off of him and let them in. He watched as they took off their wet coats and their boots. They dropped their bags on the floor. Yuzu stretched her back and let out a content sigh.

"I hate the rain," she said.

"Hmm," Ichigo responded, if you could call it that. "There's some people I want you to meet. They're in the kitchen."

Yuzu ran to the kitchen and was tackled by her father. Karin walked alongside Ichigo, her arms folded behind her neck completing her bored look. They both walked in and before Karin could get tackled by Isshin also, she kicked his face.

"Hey, dad," she said coldly.

"You're so cold, Karin," he said, tears making their way down his face.

"You're so dramatic," she said punching him in the head before turning to all three girls, staringa t her in shock.

Yuzu stood beside Ichigo, inspecting each girl.

"Is the short girl with the dark hair and bandage on her nose your girlfriend?" Yuzu questioned innocently.

Ichigo blushed, "No. They're all my friends. You remember tatsuki?"

She looked thoughtful, "You mean the girl who always used to beat you in fights when you were younger?"

Ichigo turned more red, "Not all the time. I won some!'

"One," Tatsuki added.

They all held in giggles. Ichigo crossed his arms immaturely and huffed.

"Anyways, she was my fighting partner but she moved away. Here she is," he changed the subject. "This is Inoue," he said pointing lazily to Inoue who bowed politely.

"She's pretty, you think so?" Yuzu whispered in his ear. Too bad she was a loud whisperer. Ichigo let out a loud coughing sound. Inoue waited for his answer but was disappointed when he ignored it.

"And this is Rukia," he said pointing to Rukia.

"I like her," Yuzu stated. "I want you to date her!"

Ichigo was about to protest when Isshin, who had been unsually quiet, spoke up. "Me too!"

"Dad," Ichigo yelled, embarrassed. Why was his family always out to embarrass him?

Lucky for Ichigo, the door bell rang. "I'll get it!' he said running out of the room. Once out, he let out a sigh, not thinking about the kind of conversation happening while he was gone.

He opened the door and was pulled out again. He didn't get to see his attacker before he was hit upside the head with something hard. Darkness took over his vision as he lost consciousness. He was dragged into a car. the door shut and it drove away.

Rukia heard a car door slam outside, "The pizza must be here. I'll go help Ichigo."

She walked out of the kitchen and saw the door opened fully. Ichigo was no where in sight.

"Ichigo if you're there; I swear if you jump out and scare me, I'll kill you!" she warned. She approached the front door with caution. A note was stapled to the door. She walked up to it and pulled it off the door carefully. Her eyes scanned the writing and she dropped it.

"Ichigo!"

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Oh, no! Ichigo! I'm so cruel. I serisouly love Ichigo and it hurts me to be writing about him like this. But don't, if you love someone, you would never hurt them on purpose, right? Right? Anyhooo, R&R!!!

Eva-miko


	9. Chapter 9

Ahh, I left you guys in suspense then last time! Who wrote the letter? What did it say? Was it evil monkies taking over the planet Earth? Obviously not, read on to find out. (Though it's fairly obvious...)

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**Chapter Nine**

Everyone ran into the front foyer when they heard Rukia scream. They saw her on the floor, clutching something in her hand. Inoue sat beside her asking her what was wrong, but got no response. She seemed to be in shock. Inoue had to force Rukia to give her the letter. Once she got it she read it out loud to the waiting crowd:

_We told him not to talk to any of the girls. Then he goes and makes friends with another hottie. We told him if he even looked at another one, we would kill him. Too bad he neglected to listen. See ya._

A silence took over them. Yuzu was the second one, after Rukia, to break down in tears. Inoue re-read the letter again, making sure she had read it right. She hoped everytime she re-read it that it would somehow change. It didn't.

Isshin left the room to call 911. He reported a kidnapping and a death threat left at the scene. They told them to stay put and they would be there as soon as possible.

Karin stood there, looking in as much shock as the others. She leaned against a wall to keep her balance. An unnoticed tear made its way down her cheek. She wiped it off roughly.

Isshin returned and put a hand on her shoulder. Even he looked serious and disturbed. Anyone looking at him could tell her was worried.

"We'll find him," he reassured everyone. "He'll be back home alright by tomorrow."

No one said anything about the doubt in his voice. A sad memory was evident on att the Kurosaki's faces. Inoue, Tatsuki and Rukia looked at them, each with eyes full of tears.

"Has this happened before?" Inoue asked softly, her voice about to give out on her.

At fist no one spoke but Isshin spoke up, "This has happened before...five years ago..."

A gasp escaped the lips of Rukia and Inoue. Tatsuki knew this story already.

"It has?" Inoue voiced out. Rukia still did not speak.

"Yes, Ichigo's hair has caused him problems all his life," he admitted. "One day he was in a serious fight. They knocked him out and took him to an abandoned house down the street. His mother was the only one home. She ran to the house to help him. What happened in that house, no one but Ichigo knows. He's never talked to anyone about it. All I know is that she was shot trying to defend him. He used to fight back back then...but ever since his mother's death, he believes that he deserves to be attacked. He doesn't defend himself anymore. I try to get him to by attacking him, but he's been slacking off ever since then. He's showed a little more fighting spirit since you two," he said motioning to Inoue and Rukia with his hand, "came into his life."

Rukia broke out into hysterical sobs. Inoue covered her mouth with her hands and allowed even more tears to fall.

"You two have made him feel like he has someone to protect," he continued. "We'll find him, don't worry," he said with more confidence this time.

He got up and walked to the door. Turning his head toward them he asked, "Aren't you guys coming? We have a rescue to do!"

He ran out the door. Rukia was right out the door beside him. Inoue stayed at the house with Yuzu and Karin. Isshin and Rukia ran to the said house and found a car parked in front of it.

"These people are so predictable," Isshin said with a smirk. His face grew serious when he turned to Rukia, "Be careful. I don't want history repeating itself."

Rukia nodded, her face still wet with tears and rain. They snuck into the dark house.

As they walked in they got a good mouthful of spider webs. The stopped momentarily to spit them out. the looked around. It was in horrible shape. layers of dust, probably haven't been cleaned for years, sat on everything. Foot prints were imprinted in the dust. The wood moaned underneath their feet. They took careful steps. The ceiling was soaked, probably leaks in the roof dripping the rain's water into the house.

They followed the footsteps to the bottom of the stairs. Sounds of someone being pushed around came from upstairs. They peered up the stairs bracing for a fight. The sounds were getting closer. A dark figure flew down the stairs and landed on Isshin. He hit his head on the wall behind them, knocking him out.

A slight groan was heard from the figure. Rukia approached it slowly. She touched it's back and it flinched.

"R-rukia," she heard it whisper.

"Ichigo," she said back, hugging him. He hissed. She moved a little away from him. "Are you alright? We have to get out of here. Come on get up," she ordered quickly. She got up and tried to pull his arm.

He ripped his arm out of her grasp and whispered forcefully, "No! Get out of here! They'll hurt you!"

"I know what happened with your mom! You don't deserve this! We have to get out of here. The police are coming!" she whispered frantically. She grabbed his arm again, only to have to pulled away again.

"No," he growled.

A crack was heard from the stairs. Rukia got up and stood between Ichigo, Isshin, and the attacker. A chuckle was heard.

"Baby, move," the voice said sternly. "Listen to him. Unless you want to get hurt too."

Rukia narrowed her eyes dangerously, "No."

She saw the shadow shrug, "Oh, well. I warned you."

She gasped when she was tackled to the ground. She felt him on top of her. A small stream of light floated in through a broken window revleaing the offenders face. _Aizen!_

She heard him chuckle. A bright reflction momentarily blinded her. She saw a knife gleaming in his hand. The light from the window reflected off it, making it look more dangerous and sharp. It disapeared as he lowered his hand. She flinched and froze as she felt its cold sharp blade on her stomach. A burning pain spread through her body as he sliced her flesh. She whimpered, too scared to think.

"Rukia," Ichigo growled. He got up and attacked Aizen with his remaining strength. Another body tackled Ichigo off Aizen. Rukia scurried away into a corner. She bumped into a desk causing a lamp to fall and smash beside her. She felt a large piece of glass cut her leg. She picked it up and held it like a weapon. She looked up and saw Aizen's cruel face approaching her. She disapeared into the dark.

Hurrying towards Ichigo who was being severely and repeadiatly punched by the second man. The man, unaware of her coming up behind him, continued his attack. Rukia plunged the glass shard into the guy's back. She heard him gasp. He began to cough, getting up off Ichigo. He stumbled over to the middle of the room and fell over, unable to stand. Blood soaked the floor, turning the dust a dark red. His raspy breathing stopped, telling Rukia was dead.

She sighed glad it was all over. She walked over to where Ichigo was, the little bit of light the broken window allowed to illuminate the room, and saw him looking at her, weaker then she had ever seen him.

"Are you ok?" she said tears coming to her eyes again.

"Rukia," Ichigo said weakly. She looked in his eyes and saw the reflection of a movement behind her.

Aizen. She had totally forgotten about him. He tackled her from behind. She fell to the ground on her stomach, him sitting on her abck. She struggled to move but found that she couldn't. She pushed her head flat on the ground. She felt his warm breath on her ear, "Don't move."

She felt him begin to remove his pants. She began to shake severely. She flipped her over. She began to thrash violently as she felt him unbotton her jeans.

"Get off! No don't! Ichigo!!" she screamed desperately. She didn't hear anything. He must have been unconscious. She was alone.

"Now, now. What did I just tell you?" he snarled as he plunged his knife into her stomach. She held her breath. She felt blood filling up her mouth, telling her that he had struck something inside her. She was unable to hold her wound since Aizen had her hands pinned above her head.

She didn't move as he continued, her vision getting blurry from the pain. She groaned and her fell to the side weakly. "Good girl," she heard him whisper.

She felt him position himself above her. Her eyes closed, waiting for the pain. Yeah it came but not like she thought. She felt him fall on her, putting pressure on her stab wound.

He was heaved off her. She opened her eyes slightly, it was too dark to tell who was standing over her.

"Ichigo?" she whispered hopefully.

"No, Rukia. It's Isshin," she heard the fatherly voice say. "Hold on there."

He walked away, the wood creaking under his weight. She turned her head watching him walk and putting Ichigo's arm over his shoulders. Ichigo was still conscious, barely. He looked at Rukia sadly.

"I told you to go," he mumbled out.

"And I didn't," she responded with equal weakness in her voice.

"Moron," he insulted.

"Shut up," she started.

"Now, now children. Now's not the time to be fighting. We gotta get you outside," he told them. He led Ichigo over to Rukia.

"Can you stand on your own for a second?" he asked his son.

"Of course," Ichigo said stubbornly.

Isshin let go of his son, who wavered slightly, trying to keep his balance. He bent down and picked up Rukia, bridal style. She sucked in a breath when he moved her but soon began to take quick small breaths. He let Ichigo hang off him again and led them outside.

"Good thing we were downstairs. I don't know if I would have gotten you both down those stairs," he said, with a little humor.

He layed Rukia on the grass and let ichigo go once again. He watched as Ichigo sat next to Rukia, looking at her sadly.

"You two stay here. I'll go get some help," he said as he ran off toward the Kurosaki Clinic.

"Rukia," Ichigo said touching her arm softly. "how are you feeling?"

"It doesn't really hurt, as long as I don't move," she told him, she was lying. It hurt like shit but she didn't want him to feel even worse.

"How about you?" she asked him, her eyes inspecting him.

"Yeah, I'm good," he said trying to convince her. He had been knicked a few times by Aizen's knife but it wasn't a big deal.

A loud bang was heard from behind them. Their eyes grew wide as they sawAizen tumbling toward them, a crazy look in his eye, knife in hand. This time Ichigo stood in front of Rukia.

"Get the hell away," he said threateningly.

Aixne charged him, knife in his oustretched arm. Ichigo dodged his attack perfectly. Aizen turned around again, enraged. He attacked again.

"I told you, if you ever even look at another hottie again, I would _kill_ you!" he yelled. He smirked as his knife dug its way into Ichigo's arm.

Ichigo, seemingly unfased growled back, "And I told you, if you _ever_ even _look_ at my family of friends, that _I_ would kill _you_!"

"And you hurt my friend," he yelled. he grabbed Aizen's hand and twisted it. He dropped the knife. Ichigo grabbed it and attacked Aizen. he didn't have the chance to dodge. The knife stabbed into his chest. He spat up blood and fell. Ichigo could see he was still breathing. In his moment of rage, he went to attack him again. A hand held him back.

He looked back in surprise. He saw his father looking at him. He shook his head telling him that it was enough. Three ambulances pulled up.

"You'll need another one. There's another guy inside," Isshin told the approaching police officer.

"Thanks dad," Ishhin heard Ichigo said. He turned to see ichigo fall to the ground unconscious. He was laying beside Rukia, his hand on hers.

Four paramedics walked up with two stretchers. Isshin told him, looking down at his son and his first love, "Make sure to put these two together at the hospital."

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Ahh, that was intense. I hope I described it well enough. Poor Ichi and Ruki! Will they be alright? Will Aizen live? You'll just have to see!

Eva-miko


	10. Chapter 10

Ahh, I'm still trying to decide whether this should be the last chapter. I guess we'll see as I write it. Anyhoo, (Notice I write this at every introduction to each chapter?) let's continue on, shall we?

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**Chapter Ten**

_"Thanks dad," Isshin heard Ichigo said. He turned to see Ichigo fall to the ground unconscious. He was laying beside Rukia, his hand on hers._

_Four paramedics walked up with two stretchers. Isshin told him, looking down at his son and his first love, "Make sure to put these two together at the hospital."_

/\/\/

Rukia woke up with a soft groan. Why did it hurt? What had happened? She opened her eyes slowly. The light reflecting off the bright white walls made the room seem even more blinding. She forced herself to keep her eyes open, so they could adjust little by little. Finally she was able to open enough to see that she was in a hospital bed. She looked down to the source of pain and found herself covered with sheets as white as the wall.

"Why do they have to make everything white? It's so depressing," she mumbled lowly. She lifted up the sheets and saw bandages covering her whole mid-section. "What the hell?" she said touching them carefully.

A flashback came to her mind, allowing her too see for a second time what had happened. Aizen attacking Ichigo and herself. She didn't remember actually being brought to the hospital, but she assumed that it had happened after she fell into unconsciousness. She remembered him standing over her, protecting her from Aizen. She didn't know where his newfound energy had come from. He looked so weak and helpless when she saw him lying there.

Then it also came back. The look on Ichigo's face. So similar. She began to sob. She hoped that history hadn't repeated itself. She hoped it turned out just like Ichigo's has. She defended him like his mother had, and she survived. _He_ had defended her, but he died.

"Kaien," she whispered out. It felt good to say his name once again but sad. She had moved on a long time ago, but she still remained sad. She remembered the day when Ichigo was fixing up her nose, just after punching it. The calm look on his face. It reminded her so much of Kaien.

She heard a chuckle come from her left. She quickly shifted her gaze from her lap to the noise. She took a quick breath in.

"Talking to yourself?" a crude voice said, teasing her.

She huffed, "No."

She kept her gaze on Ichigo though. Normally she would quickly look at something else. But he lived. He was there.

"Don't lie, I heard you. You said something like, 'Cane,'" he said in a mocking voice.

Rukia grew angered, "I did not say cane!"

"Then what _did_ you say?" he said as a frown took over his childish smirk. Oh, how he loved to bug her.

Sucking in a breath she responded silently, "Nothing."

"Don't lie, moron. I was here the whole time. You were sitting there then you said something about hospitals and white and depressing. Then you zoned out all of a sudden and then you were like, 'Cane,'" he said explaining to the girl her past actions. Frustration was taking over. Why wouldn't she just tell him what she had said?

"Stop it! His name is not 'Cane'!" she yelled. She must have opened her wound again or something but her stomach began to shoot with pain.

Ichigo was at her side in an instant. His frustrated look once again changed into a worried one. "Let me see," he ordered.

But Rukia was stubborn, "No. I'm fine."

"So looking like you're in pain is the new fine?" he added sarcastically.

Rukia closed her mouth and looked away. She looked like a child who had just fallen off her bike and scraped her knee. Ichigo moved closer.

Rukia felt safe, safer than she did when she was with Kaien. She moved a little closer too, leaning on his shoulder lightly.

"I said Kaien," she murmured.

"Huh?" Ichigo said. Her voice was quiet so he had to strain in order to hear her.

"Kaien," she repeated. Her voice grew a little, now it was loud enough for Ichigo to hear clearly. "He was my best friend. I'd known him since a was little."

Ichigo said nothing as he watched her tell him something she had obviously never told anyone before.

"I really liked him. You know, as more than a friend. One day he told me they he wanted to talk to me. The school dance was coming up soon. I thought he was going to ask me to go...as his...date," she said, blushing at the memory.

Ichigo felt a pang of jealously, but pushed it back down. He continued to listen to Rukia. His eyes never left her face. Her eyes. He tried to look serious and maintain the frown but he knew he was failing miserably.

"But I was mad when he asked me advice on how to ask another girl out. I was so jealous. I screamed at him and told him that I hated him. I honestly never wanted to see him again. I told him that," she said. The sadness in her eyes was overwhelming Ichigo. He pulled her closer to him so he didn't have to look in them anymore. He rested his head on the top of hers, "Continue. I'm listening."

Rukia felt the urge to giggle when she felt his throat vibrate on the top of her head as he spoke. She decided that it was all in the past. Knowing full well that she would start crying at some point, she tried her best to keep herself together at the moment. Taking in a deep breath, she continued,

"We didn't speak for weeks. He called every night for a week. Every time I hung up on him when I heard his voice. Eventually he left a message telling me that if this was truly what I wanted then so be it. He didn't call after that. I knew I was being immature. But I was afraid that if I tried to take it back now, that I would look weak, like I was begging for forgiveness. But I was too stubborn for that," Rukia admitted sadly.

"A year went by since we stopped talking. I missed him terribly. I was on my way to his house. I wanted to become friends again. It was raining. I didn't have an umbrella. I didn't even bring a jacket. It was really cold out. Too cold for an autumn day. I could see my breath in the air as I walked down his street. I was scared that he wouldn't take me back, that he would tell me to leave. I walked up to his front door. I was about to knock, but I was too scared. My heart told me to do it, but my mind was fogged over. I walked away," she could feel the tears beginning to fall. She tried her best to wipe them away but the more she tried, the more replaced them.

Ichigo could almost feel the pained look in her eyes as she poured her hidden pain on him. He knew he had to be there for him, to be her friend. Just like she had been for him. He would help her get through this, but for now, all he had to do was listen.

She took a deep breath, now was the hard part, "I heard the door open when I got to the end of his driveway. I heard him call me. I turned and saw him walking toward me. I panicked so I ran. I ran away from him. I knew he was running after me. But I still ran," she paused to take another deep breath. Why was this so hard? Why was she telling Ichigo?

"I hid inside the forest at the park. I saw him enter nearby but he didn't know where I was. I walked through the path that led to my house," she muttered. Her voice was that of a five-year-olds. She seemed so helpless, afraid. Ichigo could almost predict what was going to happen next. He kept his mouth shut.

"I was walking when I heard a rustle in the leaves. I though it was Kaien again, I though he had found me. So I jumped into a bush. I watched in silence until I saw him stroll by. He was looking around. He was looking for _me_," she hissed out the word 'me'. Guilt was evident in her voice.

"I waited for him to disappear. I could still hear his calls. He was calling me. I regretted going to his house. I felt like a coward, unable to face what I had done. And over something to stupid," he growled venomously.

_Rukia,_ Ichigo thought. _ Do you blame yourself?_

"I got out of the bush. There was a rustling sound again. I could still hear him calling me in the distance, so I knew that it wasn't him. I turned around and saw two men, in their twenties. They had a look of possessiveness and lust. I was scared, so I screamed out his name. I didn't hear him coming when the two men attacked. I heard one of them ask the other," she paused to swallow. But her mouth was dry; she didn't know why she swallowed. "He asked, 'You wanna go first?'"

Ichigo was furious. He clenched his hands. His jaw was so tense that he swore that it would break.

Rukia could _feel_ the anger coming off Ichigo. She felt a low grumble in his throat and watched as he clenched and unclenched his fists. She let a small smile lay on her face momentarily, until she continued.

"One guy decided to go first. The other guy stood to watch. I had my eyes closed so I don't know what really happened. All I know one moment he was standing there with that sickening smirk on his face, then he was on the ground. I looked up and saw Kaien standing over the guy. I heard the guy on me laugh. He punched me then got up. I was too scared to move. All I could do was watch Kaien and the guy face off," she said, her voice wavering. Ichigo felt her shudder roughly through her tears. He tightened his grip around her, hoping to make her feel safer.

Rukia moved closer, taking in his warmth, "Thanks," she whispered shyly. She couldn't help but have feelings for this guy she had met only a week ago. A small blush painted her cheeks.

"It's nothing," Ichigo whispered back. "You don't have to continue. I'm not forcing you."

Rukia shook her head causing it to rub against Ichigo's chin, "No. I want to."

"Okay," he said, letting her continue. "But you know I'm here."

"Mm-hmm," she hummed softly.

Ichigo smiled softly, something he rarely did before but since he had met Rukia; he seemed to be doing so more often. He didn't say anything else, waiting for her to continue her story.

Rukia took a deep breath, starting off where she had let off, "They fought for a long time. Well that's what it seemed like. The guy was way bigger than Kaien, and he seemed stronger. But Kaien had experience. He'd been studying and learning different fighting styles and techniques since he was in diapers," she said with an almost inaudible chuckle. Tears were still making their way down her face.

"Ichigo!" a happy voice came from the door. The couples looked over and saw Isshin staring at them, mouth open wide. "Rukia, you're up. Why so close?" he said suggestively wiggling his eyebrows.

"Dad, go the hell away," Ichigo mumbled. His dad had the worst timing.

"But--" he began.

"Now!" Ichigo snapped, pointing to the door roughly.

Isshin walked out looking like a puppy that had just been caught doing something naughty. "You're mean."

"Deal with it," Ichigo came back.

With a final 'humph', he was out the door.

"Sorry about him. He's an idiot with bad timing," Ichigo apologized.

"No," she said, "I think he's funny."

"I don't see it," he said with a sigh. He used a free hand to run through his messy hair.

Rukia let out another chuckle, louder this time.

"Are you sure you want to continue this conversation? Or leave it to another day?" Ichigo said. He didn't want to bring it back up and see that sad face on her again. He knew that it was inevitable though.

"I'll finish now," she said. She seemed a little more positive now, though he knew she was putting up an act. She had to be brave. She had to get over this.

"Alright," he said, ready to listen.

"They fought, and the guy pulled a knife," Ichigo could feel her about to break down again. Once again he tightened his arms around her. "He ran for Kaien, thank God he dodged. The guy was angry. He didn't like the fact that he dodged him. He ran at him and began to swing it madly. I heard Kaien yell at me to run away. I was frozen. He yelled at me again. I was finally able to get up. I ran, but something told me not to run far. I hid in the bushes nearby. I watched them fight for a few more minutes. I was so scared for him. I still...really liked him..."

Ichigo felt the pang of jealousy again, but he scolded himself. Trying to tell himself that he didn't like her like that.

Rukia choked up, "I'm sorry. I must look so stupid."

"It's ok," Ichigo cooed. "You're not stupid."

"T-the guy ran for K-kaien one more time. He wasn't able to dodge. I wanted to scream, but I was too scared. The guy ran off, I don't know why. I waited a couple minutes, till when I was sure he was gone. I went to see Kaien. He looked so weak. He asked me if I was all right. I didn't care. I'd never seen him look so vulnerable, so helpless. I remember falling by his side. The knife was still in him. I wanted to pull it out but I was afraid of hurting him. There was so much blood. All over my pants, my hands," she sobbed. Her hands flew to her face. She broke down once again. Ichigo didn't know what else to do but whisper soothing words in her ear.

"Rukia, stop. I hate seeing you like this," Ichigo whispered. "Tell me the rest some other time."

"You don't get it," Rukia breathed.

"Get what?" Ichigo replied.

"Get why I'm telling you this," she told him.

"You needed to let it out. This sort of thing you can't hold in, you have to let it out. You can't let them destroy you, like I let it destroy me," he admitted.

"You want to know why I'm telling _you_ this?" Rukia snapped turning around looking in his eyes.

Ichigo semi took offence by the way she said _you_. It sounded like he was a last resort, like she'd rather tell a fly than him. He went to say something, but the look in her eyes shut him up. Her violet eyes, tear-filled and guilty, looked angry but relieved. He saw a little bit of something that looked like...No. He was imagining it. He didn't know someone could hold so many different emotions at the same time. His anger melted away but was replaced by confusion.

"Why?" he asked, still looking in her mysterious eyes.

"Because last night reminded me of that day. The look in your eyes when I was leaning over you," she said closing her eyes. She pictured it; the look in his eyes. "It reminded me of the look in Kaien's eyes just before he died. I was afraid to lose someone..." she didn't finish. She was afraid to scare him away. They met only a few days ago. She'd never become so attached to one person, not even Kaien, so fast. It had taken her weeks to trust Kaien fully. After months she grew to like him, maybe even love. She would never say it out loud but she truly was in...

"I love you," a voice said. She opened her eyes and was met by a soft brown.

"What?" she heard herself say. _What did he just say?_

"I probably look like a complete jerk saying this right after what you just told me," he said looking down in shame. He almost regretted saying it. This is why he didn't let out his feelings. He'd always do or say something at the wrong time.

He felt his chin being lifted up. He was forced to look in her intense violet eyes. She gave him a quick peck on the lips. A blush spread across his face.

"You don't," she said softly. "You look perfect. But I really do miss your crazy orange hair."

"You do?" he said, looking at her in astonishment. Never once had he heard someone say that to him.

"I know, when we get out of here, we'll dye it orange," she said, shrugging her shoulders suggestively, still leaning against his chest..

"Sounds good," he said blowing a bit of his unruly black hair out of his face. He hadn't been able to gel it that morning when he woke up, so it was flying even more wildly around his head. Rukia didn't seem to mind though.

She reached up and ruffled his hair slightly before putting her hand back down slowly, looking pained.

"Stop moving," he ordered laying her down. "You'll open your wounds."

Rukia watched as he put the obnoxiously white covers over her gently.

"I love you," she said.

"I know, you moron," he said as he bent down and kissed her gently. He sat back down beside her. He leaned against her bed, looking around. Rukia looked at the hand placed carelessly on the bed beside her. She reached out and grabbed hold of it. She closed her eyes, trying to fall asleep. She felt the hand squeeze hers comfortingly. She let the smile she had been hiding make it's way to her face. She opened her eyes to see Ichigo, wearing a smile that would rival even her own.

A flash caught both of their attention. They turned to the door. There, they saw a smirking Isshin holding a camera. He held out a picture.

"Dad!" Ichigo said jumping up. Rukia watched as he ran after his father, who was screaming like a little girl. She listened to them until they disappeared. She closed her eyes, truly happy for the first time in a long time. A noise caused her to look at the door. There stood a huffing Isshin, the picture still in hand. He walked over and showed her the picture. It looked actually really nice. She had to admit that she and Ichigo looked really cute together. Too bad it was in a hospital.

"We'll have to take more, when I'm not in this stupid bed," she said glaring at the bed.

"I think I'll call this one, 'The New Girl,'" he said before Ichigo came stomping into the room.

"You!" he said pointing threateningly at his dad. "Gimme the picture!"

Isshin let out a girlish laugh and dodged as Ichigo dove for the picture which he held out tauntingly in front of him. Ichigo flew over the bed and landed with his face planted in the wall. He got up and let out some sort of battle cry. Another chase began.

The picture fell on Rukia's lap. Ichigo paid no mind, only concentrating on catching his demented father. She picked it up gently. She reached for the pen on the table beside her. She carefully wrote, "The New Girl" at the bottom. She gazed lovingly at it and put it beside the Chappy doll sitting at her bedside, looking over her.

"This should be interesting," she said while watching Ichigo trying to pull Isshin's hair off.

"No, not the hair!" he yelled a wide stream of tears flowing freely down his face.

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Omg, that was a sweet moment with a tinge of funny, yet still sad. Kinda long, but I think the last chapter should always be the longest. I know there's a lot of OOCness in this chapter and I apologize, but I'm still having trouble with it. I'll get better! Thanks. R&R!

P.s. I'll probably be making a Sequel to this story soon. Actually I've already got the first chapter written. But before I post it, I'd like to get to 85 reviews. The story is placed in the future, after they get married. I know, they get MARRIED! w0Otness! Thanks yaz!

Eva-miko


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